UK construction industry buoyed by potential new 10-week Accelerated Planning Service

Tradespeople nationwide have welcomed the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announcement that it is currently reviewing the responses it received during a consultation period earlier this year for protocols that aim to speed up the planning permission process.

The proposed key elements under discussion by MHCLG, part of a larger National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) consultation that could see a long-overdue overhaul of local planning authority services and performance, are:

• A new Accelerated Planning Service for major commercial applications with accelerated decision dates, in some cases within 10 weeks, and fee refunds wherever these are not met
• Reducing the use of extensions of time: stopping their use for householder applications and allowing one extension of time for other developments. This is part of a wider review of performance measures for local planning authority speed of decision-making against statutory time limits
• Expanding the current simplified written representations appeals process for householder and minor commercial appeals to more complex appeal types
• Implementing section 73B for applications to vary planning permissions and the treatment of overlapping permissions

The findings of a recent survey conducted by The Guild of Master Craftsmen (GMC), the UK’s most established trade association, identified many of the challenges its members currently face regarding planning permission approval. These include a significant decrease in the number of green-lit applications, an increase in time extension requests from local planning authorities, inconsistent rulings and a backlog of applications.

One GMC member, Andrew Guppy, at The Classic Barn Company, which supplies oak[1]framed barns, garages, and out-buildings, said he had “noticed a huge increase in refusals”, noting that from achieving a 95% success rate in planning applications two years ago, the company is now getting “below 50%” approved. Further, Mr Guppy said that the ‘determination deadline’ – the date a decision is expected to be made on an application – has not been met by the local planning authority “in over two years”.

Current government guidelines* set out statutory time limits following the validation of a planning application as 13 weeks for applications for major developments, so Mr Guppy’s experience highlights a serious discrepancy. He also commented on the issues surrounding time extension requests. Local planning authorities can enter into a planning performance agreement with the applicant if it is clear that an extended period will be necessary to process an application, but Mr Guppy gave an example of a recent application by The Classic Barn Company that demonstrates how these guidelines do not seem to work in reality.

“The local planning authority always asks for an extension and this time, one was requested 24 hours before the deadline,” he said. “This was despite us making numerous attempts to open dialogue prior to the deadline, but there was zero response. Then, 24 hours before the end of the extension, the application was rejected, again, with no avenue of communication and no ability to improve or work on changes. We had no choice but to start the whole process again.”

The GMC poll also found that the majority of the member companies who took part agreed that underfunding, inadequate staff training and lower employee numbers – a knock-on effect of the pandemic – were also playing a significant part in the overall performance of local planning authorities.

Speaking on behalf of London-based residential property development and construction company, Leconfield Property Group Ltd, a spokesperson said, “We submit 10-15 planning applications every year, and we’ve found that the planning department is incredibly slow to respond. There’s a very poor quality of communication, and since COVID, it has worsened. They are understaffed and lacking well-qualified people due to their tight budgets.”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, signalled the government’s awareness of some of the issues in her autumn budget on 30 October, which indicated that £46 million would be given to local authorities for the training of 300 graduates and apprentices to increase the quantity and quality of planning officers. In addition, £5bn will be spent on housing investment in 2025-26, including the supply of affordable housing. Reeves also said that the government intends to respond to the NPPF consultation by the end of the year.

But the budget announcements have drawn mixed responses.

Mike Derbyshire, partner and head of planning at consultancy Bidwells, commented: “A move to hire hundreds of new planning officers represents only a small fraction of those lost after years of austerity, so will unfortunately have little impact in fixing Britain’s gummed-up planning system.”

Chris Bowes, planning partner at the law firm CMS, said: “It is welcome news that Rachel Reeves said a response to the NPPF consultation would be given before the end of the year and will confirm pro-growth reforms to the planning system. These changes should ensure a simplified and streamlined planning system, through next year’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill, and will be boosted with financial support.”

And while expert architect Haydn Jones, head of the conciliation department at The Guild of Master Craftsmen is cautiously optimistic, he tempered his view with some important advice for those who will still face more pressing concerns. “There are no immediate changes which will reduce the backlog in the planning process and the announcements will take some time to hopefully improve the situation. But those in the construction industry should also be aware of a more pressing issue – many local authorities are now failing planning applications without any recourse to revise a scheme, if such applications have not been submitted initially for pre-application advice,” he commented.

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